


The Prodigy

by Ink_Gypsy



Category: Grand Piano - Fandom
Genre: Elijah Wood film characters fics, Gen, Request fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2015-01-26
Packaged: 2018-03-09 04:32:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3236315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_Gypsy/pseuds/Ink_Gypsy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young pianist's career begins with a visit to a stranger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Prodigy

**Author's Note:**

> I asked my LJ friends for fic requests to keep my Muse fed. This was written for Primula Baggins, who requested a fic with one of Elijah's movie characters. "An Elijah fic with one or more characters from _Open Windows, Grand Piano, or Maniac_." Of the three, I found Tom Selznick from _Grand Piano_ to be the only one I felt I could explore further. 
> 
> Since the screenwriters didn't give us any background on Tom Selznick's childhood or the emergence of his talent, I took great pleasure in using my imagination to create one.

[](http://s755.photobucket.com/user/elwoodlovesirish/media/Request%20Fic%20Pics/The%20Maestro_1-1.jpg.html)

The first time Tom Selznick saw Patrick Godureaux he was a small boy. His mother had brought him to The Maestro because at nine years-old, he was already a more accomplished pianist than any of the teachers she had sent him to for lessons.

Mrs. Selznick had started her son taking piano lessons because she thought he should learn to play an instrument, that it would make him a more well-rounded person. She had no great career plans for him in the music industry, just thought it might be nice if he could play for family and friends on holidays and special occasions. She had no idea if her Tommy had talent, wouldn't have recognized it if he did. In fact, when one of his teachers called him a prodigy, she had to look the word up because she'd never heard it before. When that teacher suggested she have Tom play for someone who could better assess his talent, Mrs. Selznick had agreed. It was only then that she considered her son might become a professional musician.

The house his mother had taken him to reminded Tom of the haunted houses in the horror movies he loved so much. It was large and dark and filled with all kinds of old things, the kind you weren't supposed to touch because they might easily break. The man who lived there seemed as old as the things inside his house, and was as scary-looking as any character Tom had even seen on screen. His white hair and eyebrows were bushy and overgrown, and his beard and mustache were the same color and as long and wild as the rest of his hair. His face was such a mass of wrinkles that Tom thought he must be the oldest person in the world. His first look at the old man had Tom wishing his mother would take him home, but then he saw the piano. 

The celebrated Patrick Godureaux had no interest in listening to the child of a suburban housewife play the piano. People used the word prodigy way too much and the description was rarely accurate, but as a favor to a former student, he agreed to see him.

The Selznick boy was small for his age, with unruly dark hair and startling blue eyes. And beautiful. Dressed in something feminine rather than the jeans and tee-shirt he wore, he could have been mistaken for a girl, so gentle were his features. But beauty wasn't talent, Godureaux knew, and only after he heard the boy play would he be able to judge whether he was as exceptional as his former student believed.

The boy had gravitated toward the piano, but stopped just short of it. "Go on, boy," Godureaux had commanded. "Sit down." When the boy obeyed, he was so dwarfed by Godureaux's beloved grand piano that he looked smaller, seemed much younger than the nine years of age he'd been told. "Now play!"

The booming voice sounded like the roar of a lion to Tom, and his hands were shaking so badly he wasn't sure he'd be able to play. Then he forced his fingers to touch the keyboard and nothing else mattered. The house, the frightening old man, even his mother seemed to fade away while the music transported Tom to another place.

And though Tom Selznick had no knowledge of it while he played, Patrick Godureaux was taking that journey along with him.


End file.
